Syria's communities and civilizations – history, sites and heritage
Chaldeans
Self-designation: ܟܠܕܝܐ Kaldāyē
الكلدان
Ethnic and linguistic communities
Chaldeans are first of all members of the Chaldean Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic church of the Church of the East tradition; some also use the name as an ethnic designation. Syria has small Chaldean communities in Aleppo and the Jazira.
The name 'Chaldeans' was first given to former Church of the East members in communion with Rome in a papal brief of 1445; in modern times it is also used as an ethnic name by some Chaldean Catholics, as an alternative or complement to 'Assyrian' (e-GEDSH). Syriac-heritage Christians in Syria use several names for themselves. The common endonym Suryoye/Suraye (Syriac script ܣܘܪܝܝܐ) is shared across churches; 'Assyrian' is used especially by members of the Church of the East and by secular nationalist movements; 'Aramean' is favoured in parts of the Syriac Orthodox milieu, whose hierarchy has generally opposed the Assyrian name; 'Chaldean' is primarily the name of the Chaldean Catholic Church and, for some, an ethnic label. Scholars describe the dispute as mainly one over names rather than over separate peoples, and this atlas lists each self-designation as its own entry with cross-references, without ruling on the question.
Sources and details
In Syria, MRG notes that some of the Assyrians of the Khabur valley belong to the Chaldean Catholic Church. Chaldean parishes exist in Aleppo, where the community is reported to date back to migrants from Diyarbakır in the 16th century, with an eparchy established in 1957 (Wikipedia, citing church sources), and in Hasakah. Liturgy is in Syriac; many families speak Neo-Aramaic and Arabic.
No reliable separate population figure was found. Chaldean communities share the experience of war, displacement and emigration documented for other Christians of Aleppo and the Jazira since 2011.
Sites connected with this community 2
- Jesus the King Chaldean Church, HasakahHasakah · Churches & monasteries
Chaldean Catholic church of Jesus the King in Hasakah.
- Saint Joseph's Cathedral in AleppoAleppo · Churches & monasteries
Chaldean Catholic cathedral of St Joseph in Aleppo.
These categories describe history, language and faith – not exclusive identities. Many Syrians belong to several, and some names refer to civilizations of the past.